Eurostat: Romania in top 3 EU countries with water deficit

Out of the EU countries, Cyprus, Malta and Romania have the highest values, over 20% (the EU average is 5.8%) of the Water Exploitation Index (WEI), 20% being the threshold from which the index shows water deficit, writes on Friday Eurostat, the statistics office of the EU.   The Water Exploitation Index (WEI+) measures total freshwater consumption as a percentage of renewable freshwater resources (groundwater and surface water) at a given time and place. It quantifies how much water is abstracted and how much water returns to the environment after use. The difference between water abstraction and return is considered as water use and illustrates the pressure on renewable freshwater resources due to water demand.   It is true, the regional differences and the seriousness of the water deficit during summer months are not visible in these annual national average values. Last year, one of the engines for inflation in Romania was the lack of products due to lengthy drought.   In Romania, a World Bank report shows that water suppliers do not have the training and the capacity to manage droughty periods. Thus, during the drought of 2022, the Romanian Water Association and the National Authority for Regulation for Community Services for Public Utilities – ANRSC received several referrals to services suppliers in Romania with regards to the challenges they face to keep water supply.   The Romanian officials say that safe drinkable water supply needs more work during droughts, but supplementary personnel hiring is not possible.   Starting with 1951, Romania has passed through several prolonged droughty periods and two droughts at national level (2012 and 2022). The drought indicators for medium and long terms show that Romania has experienced longer periods of drought at least for three times between 1951 and 2022. We mention the fact that 22nd March is the World Water Day.